Means for charging blast furnaces and the like



Oct. 27 1931. c. M. RUTTER 1,829,300

MEANS FOR CHARGING BLAST FURNACES AND THE LIKE Filed Oct. 2, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l g nucntoz C/yde M Ebtter Oct. 27,1931. 3, RUTTER 1,829,300

MEANS FOR CHARGING BLAST FURNACES AND THE LIKE Filed Oct. 2, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 27, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CLYDE M. BUTTER, MASSILLON, OHIO,

ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO

REPUBLIC STEEL CORPORATION, OF YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, A. CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY MEANS FOR QHARGING- BLAST FURNACESAND THE LIKE Application filed October 2,

This invention relates in general to blast furnace construction and more particularly to blast furnace tops and means for distributing the stock in the furnace.

For the purpose of securing a proper distribution of the stock in a blast furnace and in order to prevent escape of gases therefrom, a device called the double bell and hop-per is at the present time in general use.

This device consists essentially of a large circular hopper and a bell for closing the lower opening thereof, and a smaller circular hopper and a bell for closing the lower opening thereof, the small bell and hopper being disposed directly above and in line with the large bell and hopper. The small hopper is secured in gas-tight relation to the large hopper by means of a suitable seal,

the small hopper resting on the upper edge of this seal.

The raw material, upon being hoisted to the top, is first dropped or dumped into the upper or small hopper, whence it may fall into the larger hopper below when the small bell is lowered. The small bell being raised against the upper hopper, the large bell is lowered, and the charge falls into the furnace, without escape of gas. The bells-are made of cast steel, in one piece, and of such a slope, to as to permit the charge to slide off readily. They are usually supported from their top centers by means of a rod and a sleeve, the sleeve surrounding the rod and each being attached to a counterbalanced lever operated by means of a steam or air cylinder, or an electric motor, con-" trolled from the ground.

The large bell is usually attached to the rod by means of a universal joint connection, this type ofjoint being necessary in order to compensate for irregularities in the bell,

and to permit the bell to eflectively seat itself against the lower edge of its hopper, to provide a gas-tight joint. The small bell is rigidly secured to the sleeve. p

The manner of charging the materials is subject to much variation, but in general, the ore, limestone and coke are successively dropped onto the big bell, the material being 1929. Serial No. 396,687.

ore rests on one side of the bell and the relatively light coke and limestone occupy the remaining portion of the bell. An unbalanced condition is thus produced so that when the big bell is subsequently lowered, the Weight of the material on this side of the bell causes the bell to tip, such tipping being permitted by its universal joint suspension. This tipping of the bell causes the material to slide off at varying angles, resulting in uneven or improper distribution of the materials in the different segments of the blast furnace, and seriously interfering with the efficient operation thereof.

In addition, the big bell due to wear of its supporting rod is subjected to a pendulumlike motion or sidesway, which also causes uneven distribution of the materials in the furnace.

It is a'primary object of the present invention to provide means on blast furnace tops for securing a more uniform distribution of the charging materials in the blast furnace than has heretofore been possible to secure with the aforesaid equipment.

With the above and other objects in View, which will be more readily apparent as the nature 'of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed. 1

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a view, partly in elevation and partly in cross-section, of a blast furnace top, showing the novel charging mechanism of the present invention and the superstructure therefor;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view, showing the novel charging mechanism and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the mechanism.

50 so distributed on the bell that the heavier" horizontal ledge portion 2a.

Su ported on theledge portion 2a of the meml fer 2 is a gas seal 3 having a horizontal ledge portion 3a, and consisting of four sections secured to each other as by means of bolts 36.

The horizontal ledge 3a is adapted to support any suitable type of revoluble little bell and hopper, such, for example, as a- McKee top. In the present construction, the top includes a revoluble hopper 4' and a little bell 4a. The bell 4a is suspended below the hopper 4 by means of a cable 47), the opposite end of this cable being secured to a bell crank The little bell and hopper may be rotated in unison through any desired arc by means of mechanism, not shown, but 'well understood by those skilled in the art. 4

Suspended within the gas seal 3 by means of spaced rods 6 is a hopper 7 the opposite ends-of these rods being secured to a bell crank 8. Normally closing the lower end of the hopper 7 is a big bell 9, which is rigidly suspended from the gas seal 3 bymeans of hanger rods 9a.

In order to prevent escape of gases from the furnace when the little bell 4a is lowered, a metal seal 10 is provided. This seal 1 is preferably made of laminations of thin sheet metal, and when the hopper 7 is in its lowermost position, yields sufficiently to permit the hopper to properly seat itself on the big bell 9 and provide a gas-tight contact between the hopper and the bell.

The bell cranks 5 and 8 are adapted to be canted by means of cables 11 and 12 respectively to raise and lower the little bell 4a and. the hopper 7 respectively.

In charging the blast furnace, the operation of the aforesaid mechanism is briefly as follows:

The little bell 4a, being raised, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, and the hopper 7 being in its lowermost position, as shown in solid-lines in said figure, material such as ore, limestone or coke is dumped from the skip tub 13 into the hopper 4, and onto the little bell 4a, the material in falling from the skip tub piling up on one side of the little bell. The little bell is then lowered and the material drops onto one side of the big bell.

The little bell and hopper are then again filled, rotated in. unison through a predetermined arc, and the little bell again lowered, the material falling on a different portion of the big bell than that occupied by the first skip tub load.

This operation is repeated. until five skip tubs, or one round of material have been dumped. Each round consists of two skip tubs of ore, two skip tubs of coke and one skip tub of limestone. It should be understood of course that any desired number of skip tub loads may be dumped on the big bell, and that the little bell and hopper are rotated through a predetermined arc with each skip tub load, so that the round of material is more or less uniformly deposited on the big bell,

The little bell is then raised and the hopper 7 is raised to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. The round of material slides off the big bell into the furnace.

It will be noted that the round of material, owing to the rigid mounting of the big bell, will always slide off the bell at the same angle, thus assuring a constantly uniform distribution of material in the furnace.

It will also be noted that the big bell, owing to its rigid mounting, will not only be prevented from tipping, but will also be prevented from swaying sideways, as is the case with a bell suspended at its center.

The hopper 7 is then lowered and another round of material is charged onto the big bell. The hopper is then raised and the material dumped in the furnace.

The operations of charging. and dumping are continued indefinitely or as long as the blast furnace is in operation.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the present construction provides an arrangement which will fulfill the objects herein set forth. and provides a simple, practical and reliable means for charging materials into a blast furnace.

Without further description, it is thought that the featuresv and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and it"will of course be understood that changes in the form, proportion and minor details ofconstruction may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

I claim 1. The combination with a blast furnace of a seal mounted thereon consisting of lami- 

